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Traffic - Capitol Theatre NY - 1970

This is Traffic live in concert at the Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, New York, USA back on the 26th June 1970. The concert was broadcast live on the excellent WNEW-FM.

In late 1968, Traffic disbanded, guitarist Dave Mason having left the group for the second time prior to the completion of the Traffic album. In 1969, Steve Winwood joined the supergroup Blind Faith, while drummer and lyricist Jim Capaldi and woodwinds player Chris Wood turned to session work, Wood also joining Blind Faith's drummer Ginger Baker in his post-Blind Faith group Ginger Baker's Air Force for their first album.

In the beginning of 1970, after the demise of Blind Faith, the band having lasted barely six months, Winwood returned to the studio ostensibly to make his first solo album, originally to be titled Mad Shadows. He recorded two tracks with producer Guy Stevens, "Stranger to Himself" and "Every Mother's Son", but yearned for like-minded musicians to accompany. Inviting Wood and Capaldi to join him, Winwood's solo album became the reunion of Traffic, and a re-launch of the band's career.

As did most of their albums, it featured influences from jazz and blues, but the version of the traditional English folk tune "John Barleycorn" also showed the musicians attending to the same strains of folk baroque and electric folk as contemporary British bands The Pentangle and Fairport Convention.

Five live versions of the then brand new album are performed in this the second performance of the evening along with earlier material, in what is an incredible piece of the bands history.

Source: FM Broadcast.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.

Genre: Progressive rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, jazz fusion.

Set: Full Late Set.

Set List:

01. Tuning

02. Scott Muni Intro

03. Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring
04. Every Mother's Son
05. Medicated Goo
06. John Barleycorn

I believe I was in attendance at the 1970 Port Chester Capitol Theatre Traffic concert. My memory is a bit vague, although I recall the trio of Winwood, Capaldi, and Wood. In listening back to the set, I hear bass that would most likely be from Steve's B3 pedals, but other bass can be heard- and in "Stranger to Himself" I seem to hear bass guitar in addition to Winwood's lead guitar.Was there a 4th member there, playing bass guitar?